The Golden Rules of Sport Nutrition (Energy)

The Golden Rules of Sport Nutrition (Energy)

Energy and endurance are the prime factors
in peak performance. With greater energy you can run faster, jump
higher, exercise more rigorously. you can also sustain your sporting
activity more easily.

You could describe energy as the fuel on
which our bodies run. Our bodies create energy by breaking down
carbohydrate, fat and, to a lesser extent, protein. each of these three
nutrients breaks down into a different energy-giving substance.
Carbohydrate is stored as glycogen and breaks down into glucose, fats
break down into fatty acids and proteins break down into amino acids.
Neither vitamins nor minerals give you energy. Their role is to keep
your body working efficiently and to help in the transfer of energy from
carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The athlete's most precious fuel is
glycogen (stored carbohydrate), for it is the key to endurance. At any
time, you have only about 8,375kJ (2,000cal) stored in this form, most
of it in your muscles and a smaller amount in your liver. By comparison,
the energy stored as fat in your body is considerable. Even a person
carrying little excess body fat has about 7kg (16lb) of it, representing
about 251,200kJ (60,000cal).

The exhaustion of glycogen stores is the
limiting factor in sporting performance, if glycogen stores are
exhausted, you are exhausted and your performance falters. One of the
benefits of training is that your muscles develop an increased capacity
to store glycogen. The right training diet will not only provide enough
carbohydrate to fill you glycogen stores to enable you to exercise
longer and harder, but will also provide you with enough of all the
essential nutrients you need to maximize your health, and therefore,
your performance.

The Golden Rules of Sport Nutrition
(Energy)

- Eat plenty of carbohydrate

- Limit the fat in your diet

- Be sure to eat enough protein

- Eat plenty of dietary fiber

- Cut down on salt

- Eat a variety of foods to make sure you
are getting enough minerals and vitamins

- Include plenty of fluids, especially when
exercising

- Cut back on alcohol

Your training diet should consist of :

Carbohydrate 55-60%

Protein
12-15%

Fat
25-30%

It is worth pointing out that the
recommended intake of carbohydrate for everyone, whether you play sport
or not, is 55-60%. The main difference between a normal healthy diet and
one geared for sporting performance is in the total quantity of
kilojoules (calories) consumed.

However, if you are involved in
particularly rigorous training, you may need to draw as much as 65-70%
of your total energy from carbohydrate. You will need 7-10g carbohydrate
per kilogram of bodyweight per day.

The carbohydrate rich foods - pasta, pulses
and rice - make excellent bases for many dishes. Any recipe with more
than 20g carbohydrate per serving can be considered high in
carbohydrate.